This past weekend, a horrific event transpired in Chula Vista, California, where a 25-year-old man named Zac Zander and his family say he was beaten within an inch of his life by a group of men who are allegedly Marines. Zander was tailgating with his friends and family while waiting for country star Jason Aldean's concert to begin. According to Zander's father, Keith, a group of rowdy men began hassling women near the area, "taunting them, throwing beer at them, throwing beer cups, throwing ice at them." Distraught by what he was witnessing, Zac attempted to come to their rescue. And what occurred next is nothing short of incredibly disturbing ...

The men -- who were allegedly "bragging that they were 1st Battalion recon guys in the Marines, and they had Marine tattoos" -- turned on Zac, knocking him to the ground, and "everybody dog piled him, punching, eye gauging, and throat choking." But that was just the beginning ...

Zander's mother, Cheryl, elaborated:

They went away to assault someone else and he could hear that it was a woman. [Zac] told them to stop and they came back because he stood up for a woman. They beat him again.

Now, Zac Zander is in the hospital. His jaw had to be wired shut. His face had to be reconstructed using metal plates and screws. Completely ... utterly ... sick.

Local law enforcement, along with NCIS, says they have identified most -- if not all -- of the participants involved in the assault and they "hope to submit the case to the District Attorney's office for evaluation in the near future." But that isn't enough of a comfort to the Zander family, and I don't blame them for being frustrated and feeling like not enough has been done.

What's more, if these men really ARE Marines, wheeew, then this is a horror story on a whole different level. One that could and should bring serious shame to the service. Though, of course, it remains to be seen if they definitely were servicemen; hopefully, we'll soon know the answer, and either way, serious justice will be served for this crime.